And Today's Secret Ingredient Is.........

A while ago, we wrote about how Poker Chick would make a crappy judge on Iron Chef. Well, tonight's as close as it gets. She's taking the husband to dinner at Morimoto's NYC restaurant.

Let's see if this guy can really cook or what. More tomorrow.

Rare Moments of Domestic Inspiration

For anyone who knows Poker Chick in real life, these pictures are necessary or else we know you won't believe it. What everyone will believe, no doubt, is that the pictures have been taken eons ago and just recently uploaded. Also, she clearly has a bit more learning to do on how to design a blog post with images.

Eggless "Challah". At least it tasted good.

Pink egg and nut-free cupcakes ( a little sad, yes, but 100% homemade)

Lemon Blueberry Cake. Mistaken for store-bought.

Closet. And before you judge, know that Poker Chick keeps summer and winter items all together. So it's not as many clothes as it looks like.

The pics above are the results of events so rare they are noteworthy. Who knew? Somewhere in there is a teency domestic gene after all. It just takes giant feats of strength to smoke it out. Thanks for letting a girl share. No one else will appreciate this.

The Joy of Giving is Enough

It was great to hear the mini's squeal "YAY!" when she opened her new dolly last night. Of course, that was immediately followed by "hey! Do her clothes come off?" as she rips off the pants, and later, a whole leg.

Kids.

What You're Not Watching

Tonight kicks off the annual 24-hours of "A Christmas Story" on TBS, a Poker Chick family tradition. If you haven't seen it, you must. It is hilarious, even for members of the tribe. When you're done with that, you can check out "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", a movie that never stops being funny. It's on some cable channel tonight.

This is the "ad"-y party where we say something legal like "check your local station for listings".

Happy Christmas.

On the Other Hand....

There are peeps out there we love. It's Chanukah, and instead of the usual food stress surrounding holidays, Poker Chick is most grateful to those who have helped make a happy holiday even more special. In particular, a friend who not only checked in advance before inviting mini to a party, but re-configured the entire menu around the kid. We're talking making latkes and donuts with that "egg relacer" powder stuff, swapping ingredients in brisket sauce, and nixing the jelly beans her kid wanted. Every thing at this party will be safe for mini to eat.

Oh, and did she mention they are scrubbing and cleaning the whole kitchen before preparing any of this food?

It's so great to have friends like this. As long as mini keeps getting two of these experiences for every one miserable party, the balance will be on her side. So thanks, A. And thanks to all the friends reading this who Poker Chick knows would do the same. We couldn't do it without you.